User Comments - zhenlijiang

Posted on: New Dashboard, Scarlett and Teachers!

Just as long as you don't touch the avatar.

Posted on: Let's Just Be Friends

Ah OK so I was right, to be confused! When we say "attraction" like this, it doesn't mean "the power to attract" which is 吸引力. 而是被吸引的人感觉到的。或者，如果有相互吸引的两个人，他们之间的也是 attraction；更确切地说，那是 mutual attraction.

So now I don't think "physical attraction" is 外表吸引力 after all! Sorry Connie for putting you to a lot of trouble over this question, but thank you very much for the example sentences which have helped me understand. If I ever find what I'm looking for I'll come back and post it here! 给你添了好多麻烦，真不好意思。谢谢

Posted on: Let's Just Be Friends

Thanks Connie. How would I use it: 我对他感觉外表吸引力。——like this?

Posted on: Let's Just Be Friends

Connie 我没回复你已经一个月了，太失礼了。谢谢你的回答。

“身体吸引力”听起来很直接，不是让人有点儿尴尬的吗？“外表吸引力”还好用。

Posted on: The Pen and Paper Mystery

Thanks again for sharing your China experiences (when are you going to write that dialogue from the bus for us?), it's always good to hear how it goes down in reality, outside our dictionaries.

This 盆 is the "bon" character in bonsai (盆栽). That may be a reason it's easy for Japanese to make the connection with pots, when it's flowers we're speaking of.

盆 I know are basins (like washbasins I guess). We don't usually speak of basins of flowers though (flowers can be lying in a basin of course), or goldfish bowls of them either, hehe.

btw people eat cooked carp and even that's pretty unenticing to me. But cooked goldfish--is this by any chance the one culinary adventure the Chinese have not gone on I wonder?

Posted on: The Pen and Paper Mystery

一朵 (duǒ) indicates a single flower, it can be just the flower (without the stem) can't it?

一束 (shù) a bunch, like from the florist. I picture rubber bands and ribbons holding the flowers together, a bouquet.

一把 (bǎ) a bunch--maybe you have a garden and cut some daffodils (just as an example) from it and are carrying them in your hand or crook of the arm, you're going to take them inside and put them in a vase. Or maybe a handful of dandelions or clovers a child picked in a field.

These are my impressions and not at all definitive of course, so pls feel free to ignore--but if anyone can tell me if I'm way off here it would be much appreciated!

Posted on: Discussing Contract Renewal

Baba you're right, it doesn't mean you're first to leave necessarily. It means you're leaving before the others who remain.

We do this in Japanese too. お先に失礼します o-saki ni shitsurei shimasu (I'm excusing myself now, ahead of you). It's what we say when we're leaving. Young people at the same workplace or some team or group are also heard saying お先です！ o-saki desu!

Posted on: The Pen and Paper Mystery

Hi Jiaojie, 一盆 (pén) as a MW for flowers I think we're meant to understand as a pot. We say "potted flowers" in English.

http://www.proflowers.com/potted-plants-pla

Posted on: Describing Fear

Yes, in English when we talk about "fear of flying" we mean taking airplanes (fear of being in a plane crash).

Posted on: Las Vegas

suansuanru 说的是 (We both like gambling a bit too much.) 这个部分吧。